The SLU Billikens celebrate scoring the first goal in Saturday’s A-10 Tournament win over Davidson. (Photo courtesy: SLU Athletics)

NCAA Women’s Soccer12F
#8 Davidson (8-8-3)000
#1 SLU (12-1-6)112

SCORING SUMMARY

TimeTeamDescription
08:19SLULucie Schwartz (3)
Assisted By: Izzy Luebbert.
58:42SLULyndsey Heckel (4)
PENALTY KICK GOAL.

Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

ST. LOUIS, MO — The No. 1-seeded Saint Louis University women’s soccer team scored a goal in each half and played brilliant defense throughout the game to cruise to a 2-0 win over No. 8 seed Davidson in an Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament first round game, Saturday afternoon at Hermann Stadium.

Saint Louis, which is 12-1-6 on the season, extended its current unbeaten streak to 14 matches and advanced to the semifinals of the A-10 Tournament, where the Billikens will play fifth-seeded Saint Joseph’s, which defeated fourth-seeded Fordham to advance.

SLU and Saint Joe’s will meet on Wednesday, November 6, in a match at Hermann Stadium. The winner will advance to the conference tournament championship game, which will be played next Sunday, November 10.

If the Billikens defeat the Hawks on Wednesday, Sunday’s championship game will be played at Hermann Stadium.

SLU’s Lucie Schwartz scored the first goal of Saturday’s A-10 Tournament game against Davidson. (Photo: Thomas Grove)

Saint Louis grabbed the lead early, when redshirt freshman Lucie Schwartz scored in the 9th minute on a deflection following a corner kick from teammate Izzy Luebbert. It was Schwartz’s third goal of the season and Luebbert’s third assist.

The score stayed 1-0 until the 59th minute, when grad student Lyndsey Heckel scored on a penalty kick to put the Billikens up 2-0. It was Heckel’s fourth goal of the season.

From there, SLU’s defense just smothered Davidson and allowed the Wildcats almost no scoring chances. The Billikens held the Wildcats to just five total shots and only two of those were on goal. By comparison, SLU had 27 shots, with seven of them being on goal.

SLU goalkeeper Emily Puricelli, who broke Hannah Friedrich’s school record with her 105th start, made two saves to get the shutout. It was Puricelli’s ninth shutout of the season and 49th of her career.

SLU goalkeeper Emily Puricelli posted her ninth shutout of the season in the Billikens’ win over Davidson on Saturday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)

BILLIKEN NOTABLES
•SLU extended its unbeaten streak to 14 games (10-0-4).
•The Billikens improved to 6-0 vs. Davidson.
•SLU is 24-5-1 all-time in A-10 Championship games, including a current 18-game winning streak.
•Saint Louis out-shot Davidson 27-5 overall and 7-2 in shots on goal. Emily Gaebe and Hannah Sawyer led the way with five and four shots, respectively. Fourteen different Billikens tallied at least one shot.
•The Bills earned an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks.
•SLU extended its unbeaten streak vs. A-10 opponents (regular season and conference tournament combined) to 40 games.
•Saint Louis recorded its seventh consecutive shutout in A-10 Championship play.
•The Billikens are 76-9-11 (.849) in their last 96 games at Hermann Stadium. Saturday’s shutout was their 61st during that stretch. Against A-10 opponents in those 96 games, SLU is 53-1-4.

SLU sports information contributed to this story.

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QUARTERFINALS – November 1 & 2
On Campus of Higher Seed
Match 1: No. 1 Saint Louis 2, No. 8 Davidson 0
Saturday, November 2 — 5:00 pm
Match 2: No. 5 Saint Joseph’s 2, No. 4 Fordham 1
Friday, November 1 —  6:00 pm
Match 3: No. 2 Dayton 1, No. 7 VCU 0
Friday, November 1 —  6:00 pm
Match 4: No. 3 Massachusetts 1, No. 6 Loyola Chicago 0
Saturday, November 2 — 12:00 pm
SEMIFINALS – Wednesday, November 6
On Campus of Higher Seed
Match 5: No. 5 Saint Joseph’s at No. 1 Saint Louis
Wednesday, November 6 — 7:00 pm
Match 6: No. 3 Massachusetts at No. 2 Dayton
Wednesday, November 6 — 6:00 pm
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Sunday, November 10
On Campus of Higher Seed
Match 7: Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6
12:00 p.m. local time